Horace Andy: Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)

 |   |  <1 min read

Horace Andy: Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)

At 71, the great reggae singer Horace Andy needs no House-like rediscovery because he always been active, most familiarly through guest appearances on Massive Attack albums.

He brought his stentorian style to their One Love (on Blue Lines) but he also possesses a gentle lovers’ rock style which burnishes his harder edge.

Although he has released dozens of albums since his acclaimed Skylarking debut (1972), this new album sympathetically produced by Adrian Sherwood of On-U Sound could bring him to much deserved wider attention.

That’s because Sherwood has reigned in his own dubbed-up and tripped-out tendencies to set Andy’s expressive voice at the centre of the sonic settings.

There are also strong songs here and a daring version of Massive Attack’s Safe From Harm which is broody, lightlydelic and conveys an ambiguous sense of reassurance and menace.

On the gospel-influenced Try Love – given spacious dubadelic touches by Sherwood – Andy has a seductive, Marley-like, reassurance message for these troubled times: when you’ve found everything wanting, tell him your troubles and “try love”.

With a discreet supporting cast which includes On-U guitarist Skip McDonald and Italian synth player Gaudi among others, Midnight Rocker connects back to Andy’s roots (Mr Bassie from the late Nineties getting a new iteration) but sounds as serious as classic Burning Spear (This Must Be Hell) and as seductive as Massive Attack.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Reggae at Elsewhere articles index

Dub Inc: Paradise (Naive)

Dub Inc: Paradise (Naive)

Although little known in this country, the multi-culti Dub Inc from France coming here for Womad this weekend have been around since the late Nineties, have played in over 50 countries and released... > Read more

TOUGHER THAN TOUGH: The 1994 box set of Jamaican music considered

TOUGHER THAN TOUGH: The 1994 box set of Jamaican music considered

One of the most exciting things about popular music is that you can never anticipate where the next wave will come from. Could you have predicted Chicago in Forties, Memphis in the Fifties,... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . .  JESSE BELVIN: Joining the club

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . JESSE BELVIN: Joining the club

The list of those 27-year olds who went to join what Kurt Cobain's mother called "that stupid club" received Amy Winehouse in 2011, and when she died there were any number of writers who... > Read more

THE BEATLES AS CHANGELINGS and MID-SIXTIES POP, 1965-66. (2022): The pivotal period from pop to rock

THE BEATLES AS CHANGELINGS and MID-SIXTIES POP, 1965-66. (2022): The pivotal period from pop to rock

"I've met them. Delightful lads. Absolutely no talent" -- actor/writer Noel Coward on the Beatles. "The thing with them is that almost every track on each of their albums is... > Read more